


pine trees and oak leaves

by littlesaintmick



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: M/M, anywho the romance is mostly background stuff, cause i have a lot of feelings about roman and seth's friendship, idk man i'm only like kind of awake and this popped into my head, like this is just kinda a few nice scenes and some character stuff, seth-focused fic cause i guess that's what i'm doing lately, weird little introspection fic about roman and seth mostly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 11:12:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15639576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesaintmick/pseuds/littlesaintmick
Summary: an in-character look at roman and seth's friendship. probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but hey, it's here :p





	pine trees and oak leaves

“Mister Rollins? You have a visitor.”

Seth furrowed his eyebrows. He felt like shit, and Hunter had already come, so had his family. He couldn’t think of anyone else who’d want to visit him. Seth nodded at the nurse, letting him know that he could let...whoever it was into the room. 

Seth’s eyes widened for a moment at the sight of his fri-Roman. At the sight of Roman. 

Roman, all six-foot-three-inches of him, all two-hundred-seventy pounds of him, wearing gym shorts and a tshirt. He didn’t bring flowers-thank God, Seth liked flowers but he hated getting them in the hospital-but he did have a small gift bag in his hands. It looked a little ridiculously smaller in his hands. Roman easily sat in the chair next to the bed, still tense, but only in ways that you could see if you knew him.

And Seth...Seth knew Roman better than almost anyone.

“What do you want?”

Roman rolled his eyes-Seth almost growled at the audacity, who did Roman think he was?

“Cut the tone, Seth. I don’t want anything. I-”

Roman swallowed, and Seth could see the tension get tighter. 

“I was worried. When you got hurt-I wanted to see you. I-”

Roman shut his eyes for a long moment. Seth tried not to think of the reasons why Roman was worried, he tried not to feel for his frie-for Roman. He watched at Roman licked his lips, opening his eyes. They were wet and dark, and Seth hoped Roman wasn’t going to cry. Seth didn’t know how he’d react to that. 

Well. He did. But he didn’t want to admit it.

“So where’s Ambrose?”

Roman raised an eyebrow. 

“You really think he’d wanna come see you? Uce’d be tearing the walls down trying to get his claws in you.”

Seth caved, and smirked. That was probably true. 

“Seth...are you-do they know if-how bad it is?”

Seth frowned again. 

“Why do you care?”

Roman groaned, loud and long and he leaned back on the chair, tilting his head back. It was like a self-made mockery of that mighty roar he had in the ring. 

“God, Seth, why the fuck do you think? I know-I know you don’t want to be my friend anymore. If you ever were. That’s okay, that’s-whatever you thought of our friendship, our relationship-I thought of you as my friend. I care-I cared about you, and I loved you, and those feelings haven’t gone away yet. That’s why I care. Don’t try and invalidate my goddamn feelings just to be an ass. And-shit, even if we’re not friends, you’re still-I respect you as a performer and I wanted to know if-”

Roman swallowed again, his eyes shining with unshed tears. Seth couldn’t look at him for more than a second.

“I wanted to know if you’d ever be stepping into the ring again, because I-I don’t know what I’d do if I lost the chance to work with you again. You’re-you’re special, Seth, that’s why I fucking came here and that’s why I care. And yeah, I know, you’re probably thinking about why I would do something so stupid as to give a damn about you.”

Seth’s head whipped up. He hadn’t voiced that, or anything like that, to anyone, no matter how strongly the worry was there-the reason he pushed Roman away at every chance. Seth gritted his teeth and glared as much as he could at Roman. Roman leaned forward, his deep voice quiet.

“Yeah, evil eye me all you want, Seth. You can think I’m stupid, or wasting my time, or whatever. I don’t care. I was with you during times when you acted way more asshole-ish than you are now. And I recognize that we’re not-we may not ever be what we were. The three of us, or just you and me-we may not be that again. After this-I’ll let it go. I’ll let you go. I don’t want to. I’ll say that to your face. I don’t want to give up on having you in my life, because you’re my brother, one of my best friends, and I goddamn love you, but if you are so fuckin’ intent on being like this, then I’ll do what’s best for all of us.”

Roman brought a hand up to wipe at his eyes, and Seth ignored the hot, wet tears streaming down his own face.

“But I do care. People care about you. I know that scares you, and I know that makes your anxiety or what the fuck ever flip out, but it’s true. I care about you. Dean still cares about you, even though you did just about the worst fucking thing you could to him, and you have to accept that at one point. You have to accept that you’re not doing this alone. Even if-if I’m not in the picture.”

Roman stood, setting the little gift bag on the bed next to Seth’s hand. 

“Get your shit together, Seth. Even if we can’t-if we never have anything again, I don’t want to see you hurting, and I don’t want to see you-I want you to be okay, and thriving, and happy. Don’t sabotage yourself just to prove that you can do everything on your own.”

Roman turned his back on Seth and left, gently closing the door behind him. Seth waited a moment before allowing himself to take in a deep, ragged breath, tears falling even heavier from his eyes. He hadn’t cried since this whole thing started, since he’d first hurt his knee, but Roman…he had a talent for reading people and pinpointing every little thing that they were struggling with. It made him a very good friend to have. And a very terrible person to have hurt. 

Seth pressed his palm over his mouth, muffling his crying until he stopped. He sniffled and wiped his face across the back of his hand, before curiosity took hold. He reached out and grabbed the bag-it was bright green and shiny, and he set it on his lap, looking into it.

He pulled out two books-one a blank notebook, and one a collection of pulp fiction-then a set of two very nice pens, and Seth realized Roman got him things to write with. Roman had been one of the few people Seth had ever let read his writing. Roman had always liked it, had always been supportive and asked questions, even when he didn’t immediately understand it. Seth pulled out a pack of gum next, laughing. Watermelon gum. He still remembered that night in Harrisburg. The last thing in the bag was a brand new rubix cube, and Seth couldn’t keep the soft smile off his face. 

Seth had told Roman and Dean about his love of rubix cubes two years ago, right when they’d first formed the Shield, and they’d sat down for pizza and beer one night at Dean’s shithole apartment that definitely had not been up to code. 

Seth sighed and opened the plastic package that the cube was in, pulling it out and noticing a card on the side of the bag. He pulled it out, shaking his head at the cover. It was some silly ‘Get Well’ card that had clearly been bought from a drug store, and Seth opened it, surprised to see two messages written in it; one in Roman’s clean, distinct handwriting, and one-even more surprisingly, in Dean’s heavy-handed scrawl. 

‘ _ Get better soon, or you’ll start going stir-crazy. Love, Roman _ .’

‘ _ Stop being hurt. Can’t kick your ass if it’s not a fair fight. Fuckhead _ .’

Seth rolled his eyes. That was very like Dean. Seth sighed and tucked the card away into the notebook, to keep it safe, and he thought of the two men. 

He hated confronting his feelings, but Roman never really gave people much of a choice, not when he had something to say. Seth honestly admired that about Roman. 

He admired a lot about Roman. He never stopped, even after-what he’d done. 

It was only in these moments, these quiet moments when he was truly alone, that he acknowledged how unhappy his decisions had made him. Yes, he had been happy to be champion, and he’d been happy to get all of the work that he’d gotten, but he was lonely. When he was younger, maybe he could’ve dealt with that, but now? Especially after having been with Roman and Dean consistently for two years?

It hurt. Seth hurt. No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, no matter how much he sat and said ‘I’m happier now, this is better for me, they were never my friends’, he knew for a fact that Roman and Dean had been his friends, his brothers, and he’d thrown that away. He’d given up what was probably the two best friendships he had ever had, and...for what?

A busted knee, a relinquished title, and not a damn person to care about him other than his family members, who he really barely saw. 

Seth rolled the rubix cube in his hands. He remembered the time he got food poisoning and Roman had held his hair back and carried him to and from the bathroom. He remembered when someone insulted his hair in a bar and Dean had bitten the guy. He remembered when they all came out to each other as varying kinds of queer, all terrified that the others would hate them for it. There had been so much good. 

Ever since then, it had been lonely meals. Showing up in fancy suits that felt like tar and feathers to events he didn’t want to be at. Trying to hide what he was feeling under the guise of not needing anyone. Seth tried to fight it, and even know, acknowledging this, he knew he would continue to act this way during his healing and once he was healed. He knew he would, because as Roman had said, he was going to self-sabotage, all to prove that he could do everything alone. 

Seth cleared those thoughts from his mind, and worked on the rubix cube. It was soothing, and nice, and took his mind off of the still-present pain in his knee, and the still-present thoughts in his head. 

\---

Seth’s eyes widened. No way was this his goddamn luck.

Dean spotted him first, and for just a second, Seth believed in a cruel and vengeful God. Dean’s blue eyes went wide and wild and thankfully, Roman sensed the change, spotted Seth, and grabbed Dean around his waist. He knew what this looked like, the three of them in some strange standoff in a gas station at one in the morning. Seth could hear what Roman was saying, in the quiet of the building.

“Dean, baby, don’t-we gotta get on the road, baby, okay? Take care of it somewhere appropriate.”

Seth had-of course, who couldn’t?-noticed Dean and Roman’s relationship becoming public. The two had harbored feelings for each other for....well, since they all first came together. Seth had seen it from the beginning, and now, seeing that they’d finally gotten together officially, and not only that, but had become public with their relationship, all Seth could think was that he was happy for them. 

Dean and Roman needed each other in a way that was special. Both of them were hotheads, while still somehow being laid back, and they were both strong, intense, fierce men with an overabundance of love in their hearts. 

Seth remembered when he had been a recipient of that love, to even a degree of what Dean and Roman now shared. He watched, frozen in place, as Dean calmed down, Roman’s fingers gently scratching through Dean’s hair, and Dean let out a quiet huff before kissing Roman’s cheek. He glared at Seth as he left, and Seth just stared, wide-eyed, looking back to Roman. The bigger man shrugged. 

“Sorry about that. Dean’s been antsy lately.”

Seth carefully approached Roman, looking at the bags of chips in front of him, like they were just two people who happened to be there at the same time. 

“Lately? He’s always antsy.”

Roman laughed quietly.

“Fair. But...seeing you, it still sets him off.”

Seth shoved his hands in his pockets, kicking the tile on the floor a little. 

“Uh...does he-does he care if we talk?”

Seth glanced at Roman, and saw a raised eyebrow. 

“I can’t say he’s happy about it, whenever he sees us near each other. He-you know he has problems with...feeling things that other people feel. He doesn’t understand how I had the reaction to it all that I did.”

“You mean he doesn’t understand why you’re not as hurt as him?”

Roman grabbed more items, filling up the reusable grocery bag he’d brought in with him. Seth smiled at that. He remembered that bag well. 

“Mhm. Don’t blame him. You really fucked him up, man. He doesn’t get how I don’t feel the same way.”

Seth grabbed a few things, before stopping. 

“Does he hate me?”

Roman sighed. 

“I’m gonna precede this by saying that that’s really a question for Dean, but...I don’t think so. I don’t think Dean hates you. He’s hurt, and let’s be real, you haven’t done much to make up for it. If you did, y’all could heal, but...that’s really, really y’all’s business.”

Seth couldn’t argue that. All of it was fair. He and Roman walked around the store, talking quietly. It had become routine for them, almost. Whenever they were around each other, they’d just. Talk. They wouldn’t formally make time for each other, and they wouldn’t stay around each other for long, but they would just talk to each other about whatever happened to be on their minds. Seth had ended up asking Roman for advice on what gear to wear one night, another day, he’d spotted for Roman at the gym and they’d talked about the movie Roman and Dean had gone to see for a date the night before. 

They purchased their things at the register and walked out into the cool night air. They stood for a moment, breathing it in, enjoying the moment of calm. 

“I gotta get back to Dean, ‘fore he gets his hands on the radio.”

Seth laughed. 

“Making you sit through conspiracy podcasts again?”

“He just loves arguing with the damn things.”

Seth looked at Roman, heard the immense fondness in his tone, and the loving look in his eyes. 

“You guys...you guys are really happy together, huh?”

Roman glanced at him, and bit his lip against a smile. 

“Yeah. We-he’s-”

Roman blushed, ducking his head down and smiling as big as Seth had ever seen him smile. It was infectious, and Seth had to smile, too. He truly was happy for the two of them. They deserved to have that, after everything. Seth hesitantly reached up, before bring his hand back down. They weren’t there. Not yet.

“I’m happy for you guys. Took you long enough.”

Roman smiled at Seth again. 

“Thanks. I-I’ll see you later, Seth. Drive safe.”

“You too, Roman.”

Seth watched as Roman went off to the rental, noticing Dean deliberately avoiding eye contact with him as Roman climbed into the front seat before they drove off. Seth huffed out a laugh before heading to his own car, smiling for the rest of the night. 

\---

Seth was definitely, most certainly, not hiding. Nope. Not at all. He was not at all hiding from the incredibly, ethereally beautiful man who he’d be facing for the new biggest title in the company. Of course not. It wasn’t like he felt like he’d been struck by lightning and swept up in a storm the very second he’d laid eyes on Finn Balor. That hadn’t happened at all. 

“Hey, what’re you doing back here?”

Seth looked up at Roman, still in his gear, still sweating, but smiling. Roman was generally so positive. Seth blushed and brought his knees up to his chest, giving space for Roman to sit. It still wasn’t easy, considering just how bulky the man was, but they’d often found themselves sequestered in tiny spaces together since they’d known each other.

“Nothing. Just-nothing. Thinking.”

Seth groaned, and Roman laughed. 

“About who?”

Seth pouted. 

“How do you know it’s a ‘who’?”

“C’mon, Seth, everyone with a working pair of eyes saw you looking at Finn.”

Seth groaned louder, and rested his head on his forearms. 

“God, was I that obvious?”

“Oh, bud, it was clear as the stripes on a zebra.”

Seth looked up when Roman nudged him with his foot. 

“You interested in him?”

“I...I don’t know. I mean-maybe? I don’t even know him, I just-I mean...I followed his NXT stuff, and he’s….I mean...wow. But I don’t know the guy, I’ve never talked to him, I just-when I looked at him-”

“You felt it.”

Seth sighed, and Roman quietly laughed. 

“Yeah. I did. I don’t know, I-it’s pointless, anyway.”

“Why do you say that?”

Seth looked at Roman and scoffed. 

“Uh...cause I’m me? I-if there’s one thing I know about Finn, it’s that he’s a good guy. Just….a sweet, good man, why would he-”

Seth swallowed, pausing for a minute. He hadn’t thought this subject would upset him much. 

“Why would he ever even look my way, when I’m….horrible?”

“Cut that shit out.”

Seth’s head shot up. Roman was still relaxed, but clearly serious. 

“You’re not a horrible person, Seth. You never have been. You’ve made some dumbass choices, but you’re not...shit, you’re not fucking evil or anything. There are legitimately bad people here, and you’ve never been one of them. You still-you don’t seem like you’re happy with yourself, yet, but you’re gonna get there, and once you’re happy with yourself, and proud of yourself, I’m sure Finn will see that. Just try to get to know him for now. You guys are gonna be working together, after all.”

Seth blushed, eyes going wide.

“Oh, shit, Roman, I’m sorry-are you okay? Two matches tonight, that’s...a lot.”

Roman shrugged. 

“I’m good. Just waiting on Dean to text me.”

“Is it rough? Him being on the other brand and all?”

Roman sighed, shrugging his shoulders a bit more sadly. 

“Yeah. I miss him. It’s just not the same, without him by my side at night.”

Seth bit the inside of his lip and reached out, resting his hand on Roman’s knee. Roman’s dark eyes went wide and he and Seth stared at the point of contact. It was the first time they’d really touched at all since that fateful night. 

“You guys’ll be okay. I’m sure you can figure out a travel schedule that lets you guys see each other more often.”

Roman nodded. 

“Yeah, I-yeah. I hope so. I really need Dean.”

Seth squeezed Roman’s knee before pulling his hand away. He didn’t want to overdo it. 

\---

“Ow!”

Seth rubbed the back of his head, turning and glaring at Dean, who, of course, was grinning at him. Roman was right behind him by a few steps, rolling his eyes at the both of them before wrapping an arm around Dean’s waist.

“‘Sup, Davenport?”

Seth crossed his arms. He and Dean had-slowly, and mostly through Roman as a messenger-begun healing their friendship. Dean still refused to be alone with Seth, and Seth wasn’t pushing him. He knew Dean needed time, and if it meant getting his friend back, then Seth would give that to him. Dean seemed to be more willing to try with Roman’s influence and help, and Seth smiled as Roman kissed the back of Dean’s ear, nuzzling the curly red hair.

“Nothing much...just…”

“Shocked you don’t have a goddamn hard-on.”

Seth glared at a still-grinning Dean, and Roman pinched the redhead’s side.

“Hey, be nice.”

Dean pulled Roman close, kissing him deeply and quickly and leaving him in a daze. 

“I’m plenty nice. Just pointing out that our friend here seemed a little excited to team with Finn tonight.”

Seth blushed, his face heating up more than it had in the ring.

“Shut up! I-shut up!”

“Aww, see, he likes him!”

Seth was willing to let Dean take a few shots at his ever-growing crush on Finn. Even he had to admit that it was getting maybe a little ridiculous, but what could you expect? Ever since he had re-injured himself and spent time in recovery with Finn, they’d grown closer and Seth had admitted to Roman and Dean that his feelings definitely went beyond the realm of ‘friendly’. Finn had even gotten him a ridiculous and adorable get-well card. Seth still had the screenshot of Finn’s post on his phone. 

“You asked him out yet?”

“......Not really, no.”

Roman and Dean groaned. 

“Come on, dude.”

“You’ve been talking for a few months now, Seth, and-it sure does seem like he likes you a lot, too.”

“Do you really think so?”

Roman smiled gently and Dean squeezed him, hands roaming over Roman’s body. 

“Of course.” 

Seth bit his lip, thinking about Finn. They were driving together for the night, since Finn’s friends had been called away for some kind of project. Maybe he could ask sometime during the night. Dean nudged Roman’s side.

“Speak of the demon.”

Seth blushed and turned around at the sound of his name being called, and he sheepishly grinned at Finn, who was smiling the same bright, big smile that he so often did. 

“Hi! Hello Roman, Dean, how are you both?”

“I’m good, thank you.”

“Peachy keen, demon man. What’s up?”

Finn laughed at Dean’s statement and stood next to Seth, their arms brushing against one another. 

“Seth and I are sharing a car and a room tonight, so I thought I’d find him. Would you two like to join us for dinner?”

There was a dangerous glint in Dean’s eyes, and Roman stepped in at Seth’s somewhat panicked look. 

“Thank you, but we’re actually busy. Me and Dean haven’t had much alone time lately, so tonight...kinda playing catch-up.”

Seth noticed the blush on Finn’s cheeks and was a little enchanted, before mouthing a silent ‘thank you’ to Roman. Dean looked more than happy with that plan, and happily said goodbye, grabbing Roman’s hand and dragging him off, likely to get a head start on ‘catching up’. Seth turned to Finn, meeting his blue eyes and trying to ignore the fact that he was surely smiling like an idiot. 

“You ready to go?”

Finn nodded, and Seth bit his lip, readying to ask a question. The question. 

“How are you and Dean and Roman doing, if I may ask?”

Seth blinked. 

“Uh...we’re...we’re doing good, yeah. Uh. Me and Dean-we’ve got a long way to go, I think, but-I’m happy to have them back in my life more.”

They began walking to the locker room to pick up their bags, and Seth knew his nerves would overtake him if he didn’t say something soon. He reached out, grabbing Finn’s hand gently and stopping him. Finn tilted his head at Seth, and blinked.

“Seth?”

“Uh...I-actually, Dean and Roman-they’ve kinda-they think-shit. Um. Okay, I-I really like you, and-it’s taken me a long time to be the kind of person who likes myself enough to think it’s okay to do this, to ask someone to-I like you. I like you a lot, and-do you wanna go out with me?”

Seth shut his eyes, wincing a little at the lack of grace in his question. He opened his eyes after a few seconds of silence, to see that Finn was looking at him fondly, his blue eyes a little darker than usual. Finn squeezed Seth’s hand, and stepped a little closer to him.

“I’d really, really love that, Seth. Wanna get something on the way to the hotel?”

Seth blushed, nodding his head and following Finn the rest of the way to the locker room, shooting off a quick text to Roman and Dean. 

‘ _ i asked him!!! _ ’

‘ _ what did he say??? _ ’

‘ _ fucking FINALLY davenport _ ’

Seth continued to text-his friends, he could safely call them, as he made his way to the car with Finn. It felt good. Seth felt good.

**Author's Note:**

> ask me about my theory that roman never stopped loving seth no matter what all went down between the shield


End file.
